14:00.
The plane from Mexico touched down in New York on schedule.
John Wick held Helen's hand as they walked through the arrival passage.
They laughed lightly together—
until John's face suddenly hardened.
His eyes snapped toward the exit.
Anna stood there, waiting silently, flanked by two assassins.
In that instant, the unease gnawing in John's chest was confirmed.
If Alex had sent Anna personally to meet him here,
it only meant one thing—
New York was far from safe.
"Mr. Wick."
"Miss Anna."
Still holding Helen's hand tightly, John stepped up to them.
Their eyes met,
a brief, simple greeting exchanged.
Helen, however, couldn't help but stare at the tall, striking woman before her.
Curiosity sparked, she introduced herself warmly:
"Miss Anna, hello. I'm Helen—Helen Moona.
It's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine."
Anna smiled softly, then shifted her gaze back to John.
"Mr. Wick, Mr. Alex is waiting for you at the hotel.
He gave strict instructions—before you see him,
you must not engage with anyone else."
John's brows furrowed instantly.
He was just reaching for his phone to call Alex,
to demand an explanation—
When a sudden chill ran up his spine.
His instincts screamed.
Scanning the crowd,
his eyes locked onto the Night Demon—
swaggering toward him with lethal intent.
In a heartbeat, John's gaze sharpened to steel.
Anna noticed too.
Her hand shot up in a sharp signal.
"You—take Mr. Wick and Ms. Moona to the car!"
With her other assassin at her side,
she strode straight toward the Night Demon.
John spared her only a glance,
then hurried Helen after the escorting killer.
Behind them,
the Lighthouse and the High Table clashed for the very first time.
In the milling crowd,
a High Table killer spotted John slipping away.
Without thinking, he started after him.
But he didn't get far.
Pfft—pfft—!
The muffled cough of a silencer.
His vision blurred,
his strength drained,
and he crumpled to the floor.
A Lighthouse assassin caught him,
dragging the body discreetly aside.
Yet as the killer turned back to rejoin the fight—
Click.
A pistol pressed cold against the back of his head.
Pfft!
Another silenced shot.
He dropped beside the man he'd just killed.
The space outside the terminal doors filled with hidden war.
Lighthouse and High Table moved like shadows,
clashing in silence.
Anna kept her eyes locked on the Night Demon.
Her steps closed the distance.
Her hand clenched tightly around the pistol hidden beneath her suit.
From him, she felt it—
the same suffocating pressure she had once felt from John Wick.
A threat she couldn't afford to underestimate.
Fifteen paces.
Thirteen.
Ten—
The Night Demon suddenly turned.
His eyes, sharp as blades, pinned her.
His hand flashed—drawing his gun.
In that razor-thin moment,
Anna's training burst forth.
The Mozambique Drill she had drilled endlessly—now instinct.
She drew.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Three rapid shots, slicing through the crowd.
The Night Demon fired back.
Pfft! Pfft!
Two rounds screamed toward her.
Both raised their suit jackets,
Kevlar lining shielding their heads.
Bullets slammed into fabric.
Neither yielded ground.
First clash—dead even.
Meanwhile.
At the Lighthouse Hotel.
Alex sat beside Caine's daughter,
playing games with her,
when a sudden system chime echoed in his mind:
[Ding! Reminder: one assassin (blue) has died.]
A flicker of pain crossed his face,
but vanished quickly.
This airport mission was planned for Anna.
Ten blue-grade killers as her team.
And in the shadows, Duggan—one of the very best—watching over her.
His purpose was simple.
He wanted Anna to seize this moment,
to break through and ascend to gold-grade,
to stand among legends—like Duggan, John Wick, and Caine.
The truth was—
ever since Susie had told him Caine's daughter was taken by the High Table in Paris,
Alex had been laying plans, step by step.
And at the center of those plans,
the question burned:
Would John Wick be ally—or enemy?
The High Table would never leave a piece like him unused.
And Alex would never allow that piece to fall against him.
At the airport—
bloodshed was inevitable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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